The ruling on one who found a child and breastfed him, and she is an elderly unmarried woman
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Question:
The listener (R. Sh. 'A. Abu 'Aysar), it seems, from the Eastern Region, Baqaiq, sent a message saying: One day, a woman who was seventy years old found an orphaned child and treated him well, may Allah reward her with good. But the problem is that she breastfed him. She was a widow, meaning her husband had passed away more than twenty years before her death, but she produced milk for him by the power of Allah . After he grew up and reached maturity, one of her adult sons wanted to marry him to his daughter. Is the marriage valid in this situation? We have heard people say that the milk must have been produced by a man. Please guide us on this matter. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If she produced milk for him and breastfed him while he was young, before the completion of two years, then he becomes her son, even if her husband had died a long time ago, or if she was divorced. If she produced the milk, she is a nursing mother and a mother. If she breastfed him five times or more while he was within the two-year period, before weaning, then he becomes her son and a brother to her children. He is not permitted to marry her daughters, because he would be the uncle of the girl, the brother of her father. She is his mother, and all of her children are siblings to this child, provided the breastfeeding was five times or more while the child was within the two-year period.
As for if what was produced was not milk, but rather water, then it is not considered, and it is not relied upon. It must be milk, of the kind of milk known to women. This happens often; many elderly women, when they take a child, feel compassion for him and produce milk for him. He becomes her son by this new milk that she produced for him, even if her husband had died a long time ago, or if she was divorced, or even if she had no husband and had never married. Whenever she produces milk, the correct view is that he becomes her son, if he is within the two-year period and she breastfed him five times or more while he was a small child within the two-year period who had not been weaned. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good. The one who had not married after?
The Shaykh : Even one who had not married; the correct view is that the texts cover her: [Surat al-Nisa: 23].
The presenter : Do you remember any specific incidents, Your Eminence, of this kind? For example, a woman who had not married and produced milk...?
The Shaykh : Yes, .......
The presenter : This happened.
The Shaykh : ..... It reached us ....
The presenter : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
The listener (R. Sh. 'A. Abu 'Aysar), it seems, from the Eastern Region, Baqaiq, sent a message saying: One day, a woman who was seventy years old found an orphaned child and treated him well, may Allah reward her with good. But the problem is that she breastfed him. She was a widow, meaning her husband had passed away more than twenty years before her death, but she produced milk for him by the power of Allah . After he grew up and reached maturity, one of her adult sons wanted to marry him to his daughter. Is the marriage valid in this situation? We have heard people say that the milk must have been produced by a man. Please guide us on this matter. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If she produced milk for him and breastfed him while he was young, before the completion of two years, then he becomes her son, even if her husband had died a long time ago, or if she was divorced. If she produced the milk, she is a nursing mother and a mother. If she breastfed him five times or more while he was within the two-year period, before weaning, then he becomes her son and a brother to her children. He is not permitted to marry her daughters, because he would be the uncle of the girl, the brother of her father. She is his mother, and all of her children are siblings to this child, provided the breastfeeding was five times or more while the child was within the two-year period.
As for if what was produced was not milk, but rather water, then it is not considered, and it is not relied upon. It must be milk, of the kind of milk known to women. This happens often; many elderly women, when they take a child, feel compassion for him and produce milk for him. He becomes her son by this new milk that she produced for him, even if her husband had died a long time ago, or if she was divorced, or even if she had no husband and had never married. Whenever she produces milk, the correct view is that he becomes her son, if he is within the two-year period and she breastfed him five times or more while he was a small child within the two-year period who had not been weaned. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good. The one who had not married after?
The Shaykh : Even one who had not married; the correct view is that the texts cover her:
your [milk] mothers who nursed you
وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْThe presenter : Do you remember any specific incidents, Your Eminence, of this kind? For example, a woman who had not married and produced milk...?
The Shaykh : Yes, .......
The presenter : This happened.
The Shaykh : ..... It reached us ....
The presenter : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.